Navbar-Links


HOME    |    RICKGUALTIERI.COM    |    CONTACT    |    NEWSLETTER    |    TWITTER    |    FACEBOOK

Nov 4, 2012

My Turn on The Next Big Thing

The Next Big Thing!?  Yep, that's what *she* said.  Ok, I imagine that joke has been done to death by now.  So sue me.  It's a Sunday and I just got back in from chainsawing fallen branches (and maybe just a little of my hand).

Anyway the Next Big Thing is a blogfest to highlight authors and their current works in progress.  The way it works is that someone tags you, you mention them, write a bunch of stuff, and then tag a bunch of other people.  Simple no? Of course it is.  Thus, as usual, I'm probably going to fuck it up because...well...because I can.

For starters let's mention the awesome people who tagged me.  Yes, I said people.  First up is Narcisse Navarre, author of An Endless Hunger and The Olive Grove.  She's currently hard at work on a new fantasy series.  I for one can't wait to read it.  Narcisse is quite the talent. I'm not sure what she can do better, writing or graphic design, but she does both pretty damn impressively. 

Next up is Carrie Seymour, who's writing a cool new vampire novel tentatively titled A Lonely Road.  Carrie didn't actually tag me; however, she offered to.  I had to to turn her down because I was absolutely swamped the past few weeks. Regardless, intentions means a lot to me, thus I think it's only fair I give her a shout out for thinking of me. It is always appreciated, Carrie...now get back to work!  :)

So up next I'm supposed to talk about my own stuff.  Dangerous to ask me as I'm sure to blather on endlessly.  But hey...here it goes anyway!

What is the working title of your book?
The title is Holier Than Thou.  It's book 4 in my Tome of Bill Series.  I'd say I'm about a quarter way through the first draft. 

Where did the idea come from for the book?
This book has been planned for a while.  It continues the story of Bill Ryder, a dateless dweeb turned legendary vampire. Less than a year ago the most pressing thing in his life was talking to one special girl and worrying about the fate of his D&D character.  Now, well he's still having difficulty talking to that girl, but the list of items on his plate has grown just a bit to include such mundane matters as, say, the fate of the world.  Yeah, Bill is a bit stressed.

What genre does your book fall under?
Foul-Mouthed Comedy/Horror, the same as all of the other books in this series.

Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
That's an easy one.  I always envisioned the cast from Super Bad being in this series.  Emma Stone would make a particularly awesome Sally. As for the rest of the cast, well, depending on the day I might rearrange them between Bill and his roommates a little.

What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book?
Bill Ryder has girl troubles...really really bad ones. The girl he wants can kill him with but a touch, the girl who wants him is more than happy to murder anybody who stands in her way, and then there's one girl who just doesn't want to deal with any of their shit. Ok that was more than one sentence.  :)

Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I'm kind of in between.  This series is currently under the Wayman Publishing banner, but I retain full control over its destiny.  Kind of a best of both worlds scenario. Yeah, I gotta be difficult about these things.

How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript?
It's still ongoing.  I expect to be working on it through the holidays at the very least.

What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
Do the first three in the series count?  If not, I'd say perhaps Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series. Bill is kind of a mirror image to that series.  His is more fantasy & horror with a touch a humor, whereas Bill is more humor with the horror layered on top. The Dresden Files is tons of fun to read, and I likewise hope Bill is too.

Who or What inspired you to write this book?
I got the idea for the original book and subsequently the series from hanging out with a group of my friends. They're the type who are typically too busy cracking wise to give a shit about the situation at hand. After kicking the idea around for a while, I came to the conclusion that a group like this would be the perfect foil for the supernatural world. An ancient creature could be speaking about a prophesy of doom and they'd be too busy laughing at what a dipshit he is.

What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
I write this series purely for entertainment purposes. There's no real moral to the story and no hidden commentaries on society, etc etc. In short, Bill is not high art. I feel it's truly a series that adults can simply read to have a few laughs and enjoy. That's not such a bad thing is it?



Thus comes the honorary tagging. It's difficult this time of year. A lot of the writers I know have either done this blog hop already and/or are knee deep in NanoWriMo, but I think I have a winner nevertheless.

Jessica Cordova and her wonderful What? Another Hobby? blog. Even if she decides to drive down and beat me with a rock for tagging her (a fair response since I'm pretty much giving her no notice on this), you should pop by her blog. Her dry wit and often hilarious musings on life are well worth it and, hey, maybe she'll even give us some insight into the book she's working on.

ps: I regret nothing!

Nov 1, 2012

Post Halloween/Hurricane Check-in

Hey everyone!  I know I've been a little quiet on here as of late.  Let's just say it's been a busy month.  I've been trying to fit in writing a new work-in-progress (book 4 in my Tome of Bill Series) in addition to planning a big-ass Halloween party, starting a new day job, and...oh yeah...keeping my family safe and sane (we're good on the first...a little iffy on that second) while an even bigger-ass storm was bearing down on us.  So in case you're wondering, yeah I'm a bit tired. Still, no rest for the wicked.

So first some awesome news.  Hopefully some of you remember the Labor Day Blogfest for Diabetes I was a part of.  Well I am exceptionally pleased to announce that, thanks to the help of all of you, we were able to raise nearly $2000 (!) for the American Diabetes Association.  Pure goodness all around and I am happy to have been a part of it.

As for Holier Than Thou, book 4 of Bill the vampire's adventures, I am happy to say it's progressing.  I even got a little work in during the past few days even with the power out.  Gotta love the iPad and its massive battery life.  Mind you, it wasn't as much work as I'd like to have gotten done...bored kids are hard to ignore.  Talk about a Lord of the Flies scenario.  Power is out, the natives are restless, and I'm the lone guy with some functional technology. Forget about writing, I'm lucky they didn't sacrifice me to some pagan gods.

Speaking of the big storm, we definitely got off lucky.  The pic above shows the worst damage to my yard.  We're talking a big tree limb, a ripped pool cover, and a smashed fence.  All in all, I'm not complaining because somehow that branch missed both my house and my neighbor's. If it had to fall, it fell nearly perfectly. I couldn't have called a better shot had I tried.

That pretty much leaves the party.  If you've been following me on twitter, you've been reading my inane posts and seeing my dopey making-of photos. We're talking about three weeks of solid work here to create a haunted maze in my basement...all for about two hours of people going through it. Well all I can say is it went down just dandy. We got a few crying kids and even one report of nightmares the next day.  Music to my ancient ears, I tell ya!

Unfortunately, with the storm looming, it all had to come down much faster than it went up.  Three weeks to build followed by a full day of hauling ass to tear it down.  See, my basement tends to flood.  A foot of water (or sewage...that happened one year) is bad enough.  A foot of water in a dark maze, full of decorations...well that would have been a true horror show.  On the upside, I could have probably inflated a few rafts and made it a boat ride.  Note to self: remember that for next year.

But oh well, it's all over now.  To that I say, thank goodness!  Here's to hoping that my life can settle down again into its normal level of insanity (easier said than done with the holidays just around the corner) and I can get back to the basics...namely writing vampire dick jokes and posting blog stories about it.  :)